Indigo Investigation
by roleplay4life
Summary: Jeff Malashok and Ashlee Grant are at it again! This time, the two teenagers are off to solve a mystery behind a terrible incident in Cerulean City. Can they solve it? Lots of laughs and suspense you're sure to enjoy!
1. School's Out!

_Author's Note:  
If you're curious, this is the rewritten version of "The Duo Goes Detective", an earlier deviation of mine. This is actually quite a bit different, as it takes place a full two years in the past. I've become a better writer over the months I've been a member of DA (thank you critiquers!) so hopefully this is better. So, enjoy and please critique!_

**Chapter One: School's Out!**

Jeff stared impatiently at the click as the moments ticked by. _Tick… Tick… Tick…_ Each "tick" reverberated in his mind, each one making him more jumpy than the previous. It was his last day of Calculus; his last day in this prison called highschool. Twelve long years of schooling, and only 120 seconds until they were over. 

He couldn't wait. 

The 15-year-old felt someone practically breathing on his neck, and he glanced back to see a caramel coloured face also gazing at the clock. Jeff pushed the other senior's face away with a smirk, switching his gaze back to the clock. 

"Sixty seconds, man." 

"Shut up, Dawaine," he hissed. He blew a blond-coloured bang from his eyes, feeling his heart pick up another beat. 

_Five… four… three… two… one…_

The ball rang, and all twenty-five students in his classroom jumped up simultaneously, rushing to get out of the classroom.

Jeff pushed past a crowd, getting into the open hallway of Blue City High of Cerulean City and letting out a whoop of success. Dawaine was right behind him, laughing joyously. 

"Hey man, we did it! We finished highschool!" 

They high-fived, grinning their faces off. 

"Yeah, and we survived Mr. Kumar, of all people," Jeff chuckled, causing them both to roll their eyes. Dawaine looked at the ceiling for a moment, and snapped his fingers, looking back to his friend. 

"Hey, we should celebrate! I'm holdin' a party at my house tonight. Wanna come?" 

He shrugged, and then seemed to remember something. "Oh, man, I wish I could, but I promised Ashlee we'd go camping together." 

"You're celebrating graduation by _camping?!_" 

"We've been friends since we were toddlers. You know that. Besides, this means a lot to her. How about you, me, and all our guy friends at a movie next week. Sound good?" 

Dawaine looked a bit disappointed, but he smiled. "Alright, deal. Catch ya later, homie." He lifted his fist, and Jeff connected his to it. 

"Hey, Jeff, one more thing." 

"What?" 

"Do me a favor and don't go to one of those fancy private universities. It'll turn you into a snob."  
He smirked. "Don't worry. I don't see that happening." With that, they waved goodbye and headed off to their hall lockers.

Jeff leaned down in front of his lock, letting it scan his retina. The security device beeped twice to show the examination was successful, and unlocked. He pulled his locker open, throwing his binder into his book bag and swinging his sack onto his back. He kicked it shut with his shoe, still beaming at the thought of highschool finally being over. College was still part of his future plans, but he had three months of nothing but relaxation and fun… 

Well, that was what he hoped, at least.

_Thirty Minutes Later_

Jeff leaned forward on his hoverboard, wishing it could go faster. The magnets kept him from falling off and wrecking, but he knew it was about time for a new mode of transportation. It would be another year till he was eligible for a hovercar, unfortunately. He swung across the sidewalk and into a driveway, managing to pull one of his shoes from the board and pushing the "off" button with the tip of his sole. The board dropped to the sidewalk, and he scooped it up in one of his hands, using the other to fix his hair up a little bit. The teenager cleared his throat, walking up to the door and opening it up. 

"Hey, Tami," he called, looking around. He frowned, wondering where his foster mom was. He had been abandoned by his birth parents at only one year of age, and was currently situated with a foster mother and father. He'd been shuffled around countless times, and found out four years ago his birth parents had died in a bar shooting. 

Needless to say, he wasn't too disappointed he had never met them. 

"Jeff, I'm in the kitchen. Would you mind helping me with some of these groceries?" 

He forced himself not to roll his eyes, plunking his backpack and hoverboard on the leather couch in the living room. He headed into the kitchen to find a lady with dark, wavy hair and a slightly darker complexion than his storing groceries. 

"So, how was your last day of highschool?" 

"Fine." 

"Care to elaborate?" 

He shrugged, stashing a few items in the refrigerator. "Not really. Ashlee wants to know if I can go camping with her." 

Tami gazed at him for a moment, seeming to hesitate, and smiled warmly. "That would be fine. Just make sure you take your cell phone, and that you're back by Sunday night. And don't do anything stupid like try to face a huge Onix or something; I know how much you two like that cave by her uncle's home…" 

He met her eyes, and had to simper at her wry smile. She'd only been his foster parent for five months and she already knew too much about him. 

"No problem. And you know how big Perro's getting; he's well past full grown by now." 

"Ah, you think that Arcanine of yours is so strong, don't you? I say, he's still wild at heart. Just _be careful_, okay?" 

He sighed, crossing his arms. "I'll be _fine_, Tami. I'm fifteen. I'll go pack up my things and head up north to the Sea Cottage." 

"Okay, just remember to be back by Sunday!" he heard her call, and headed up the stairs to his room. 

_Mothers…_ he thought, exhaling loudly and starting to gather a few supplies.

_At the Sea Cottage_

Jeff once again hopped off his hoverboard, and jogged over to the doorstep to his best friend's house. He rang the doorbell, and in what seemed to be less than ten seconds, there was a 14-year-old girl swinging open the door and pulling him inside. She had two reddish-orange fuzzy ears and four tails, a definite sign that she was an anthro. Or, more commonly known, a Pokémorph. They appeared to be that of a Vulpix, a somewhat young one at that. However, she seemed to be nothing but a normal human by nature. 

Ashlee, too, had lost her birth parents at only a year of age. Hers had died in a fire, though, and had been successful doctors. Not to mention he envied the fact she still had family alive; her uncle, a Scientist, was her guardian. 

"Hey Jeff, I missed you after school got out. Where were you, anyways? Probably with that Dawaine kid, huh? Eh, he's pretty cool. So, are you ready to go camping?" 

He blinked a couple times, and finally got back to his senses. "Uh, yeah. Where are we headed?" 

Ashlee glanced back, smirking. "It's a surprise." 

"Can I have… a hint?" 

"Well, it's not too far from here. Less than a mile." 

He rolled his eyes as she pulled him into her bedroom. The 15-year-old noticed a vast number of candles set around the room, and a tiny chandelier had replaced the spot where a lighting fixture may have been. "Uh, Ash, this is the 21st century. We use fluorescent bulbs."

"I know, I know, but Uncle Bill said it was okay to keep them in here to practice." 

He watched her carefully as she stuffed clothes and supplies into a duffel bag. "By 'practice', you mean…" 

Ashlee grinned, and snapped her fingers. A large tongue of fire suddenly wrapped around her hand, but didn't go out of control or burn her hand. 

"Impressive," Jeff admitted, and she packed up the rest of her things. 

"Alright, let's go," she announced, walking to her bedroom door, grabbing her hoverboard, and walking out in front of Jeff. 

"Hold on there, you two." 

They stopped at the door, and looked back. Her uncle, Bill, was in a lab coat, and was watching them. 

"Where're you two going?" 

"Um…" Ashlee grinned. "It's a secret, but it's not too far from here." 

He smirked. "Alright, run along, make sure you're back by Sunday night." 

"Okay," they replied simultaneously, slinging their packs on their backs, jumping on their boards, and heading out. 


	2. The Explosive

**Chapter Two: _De Vernietiging_**

"Hey, Jeff, could ya go a little slower!" Ashlee yelled over her shoulder at her friend, who seemed to be struggling to keep up with her.  
"Hey, yourself. I'm getting too big for this, but Tami won't get me a new hoverboard." He bent his knees forward, finally about side-by-side with Ashlee. "So where are we headed?" Jeff asked again, getting slightly impatient.

"Well, we gotta stop at the Center, first. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to fight off a level 50 Golem with your bare hands."

He gaped at her, almost losing his balance, and then swerved directly in front of her. She skidded to a stop, crossing her arms.

"What?"

"Excuse me, but 'level fifty Golem' is not exactly music to my ears."

She stifled a giggle, going around him.

_That girl has gone __nuts,_, Jeff mused, following her through the sidewalks and streets of northeastern Cerulean.

A few minutes later, they jumped off their boards, grabbing them and pushing through five o'clock traffic. They finally managed to get into one of the many Pokécenters.

"Hey, you two," one of the nurses called to the two friends. "Long time no see. Jeff, you graduate yet?"

He looked over at Nurse Lorraine, and smiled, heading over with Ashlee behind him. "Yeah, I graduated today, but we were both real busy with school and all. We're going camping together, so we gotta get our teams all ready and stuff."  
The nurse laughed at that. "But Ashlee, you're a one-girl team, right?" she joked with a wink. She was bandaging up a young trainer's Torchic as she talked, her redhead curls seeming to have a life of their own.

The Pokémorph smirked. "Nah, you know I'm still part-human. Doubt I'll ever be as strong as half of my own Pokémon."

Nurse Lorraine beamed at them again. "Alright, go get your teams out. Nice seeing you two, and careful out there. You never know what might pop out at you."

With that, they waked over to the PCs, set down their hoverboards, and logged in. Jeff carefully scrolled through the various Pokémon he had either captured or picked up injured during his journeys. He took training a bit seriously, though not obsessively, as he was never much of a battler. For this trip, he chose his Arcanine, Perro, his Rapidash, Firehorse, his Aerodactyl, Aero, and his Umbreon, Midnight. These were the ones that were closest to him, and he could almost always trust.

Ashlee, however, wasn't much of a trainer at all. Usually, she just took whatever came to her. Sure, she had started with one of the "starter" Pokémon, but didn't 'stress over stupid things', as she sometimes said to Jeff. The ones she picked were Blade, a Meganium, Fuego, a Flareon, and Aletear, her not-too-bright-but-always-trusty Fearow.

All of Ashlee's team was held in Great Balls, but Blade's Pokéball was customized with its name and had been coloured green. Jeff's were held in silver, customized balls, though two of them were silver and black, and the other silver and red.

He opened up the silver and red ball, and an Arcanine appeared on the floor. It took one look at Jeff, eyes lighting up, and pounced on its trainer. Jeff laughed as he was attacked by Perro's huge, slobbery tongue. A few people stared as he was 'attacked' by a rather vicious looking canine, but were soon back to their business. Ashlee, however, had seen this event quite a few times, but still found it quite amusing.

"Yeah, bud, I missed you too. Now get the heck off of me," he chortled, eventually shoving the furry Pokémon off of his chest.

Ashlee, still chuckling, now had all her Pokéballs clipped to her belt, as did Jeff. They waved goodbye to Nurse Lorraine, snatching up the hoverboards and heading outside. She hopped on her board, Jeff doing likewise. He clipped off Perro's ball, smiling a little sadly.

"Sorry, Perro, back in your ball till we get to our destination."

The Arcanine whined a little, ears drooping and looking at the ground before disappearing into its Pokéball. Jeff sighed, and clipped it back on.

"Yo, Jeff! Ain't got all day; it's already 6:30!"

He looked up, seeing Ashlee waiting impatiently about six feet above the sidewalk.

"Hang on, I'm comin'," he mumbled, leaning forward to gain acceleration and altitude.

After only a few minutes, Jeff realized they were heading further Northeast, and caught up to Ashlee.

"Ashlee?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going? We're heading back in the direction of your uncle's house."

"I thought I told you it was going to be a surprise…" the 14-year-old slyly replied with a bit of a smile. She shifted the bag on her back so it wouldn't counteract with her balance on the hoverboard. Ashlee was coasting easily, Jeff neck and neck with her.

"Okay, then, how much longer?" he inquired a tad impatiently.

"Just through these trees and over the stream," she chirruped, suddenly going about 5-10 miles per hour faster.

Jeff watched her go off, blinking. "Through the trees and…" His eyes widened. He knew where she was going. "ASHLEE!!" he yelled at her, grumbling a curse under his breath and zooming after her. _When I find that girl, she's dead meat,_ he thought annoyedly, finding a path in the tiny forest and cutting right through it. He'd been through this forest plenty of times on his board, and had developed a way to dodge trees without falling off. He managed his way around the trees, feeling pretty confident. Suddenly, a blur appeared in front of him from a low hanging branch. He collided with a lime-green blur that seemingly popped out of nowhere, and his feet detached from the board. He hit the forest floor after falling about six feet, and cried out as his neck connected with a root. Pain shot up his spine, and everything went black.

"Jeff…."

He groaned, wincing. His head felt like it was on fire.

"_Jeff…_"

The 15-year-old opened an eye, staring at a blurry face. "Am I… In Heaven?"

Ashlee's face came into clear view, and she raised an eyebrow. "Um, no, and you're not dead. I think you hit a Metapod while you were zooming at top-speed over here. I had heard a thump, and saw you lying knocked out on the ground. So I gave you an injection for the pain, put you on your hoverboard, tied it to mine, and came the rest of the way to Cerulean Cave. So now we're here, and you look perfectly fine."

"My head hurts."

She flinched. "…Yeah, probably. You made a pretty loud thump when you hit the ground."

"How long was I out?"

Ashlee looked at her watch, and he sat up. "About two hours, give or take."

"_Two hours?!_" he cried, bolting upright. He started seeing stars, despite the darkness of the cave, and held his head. "Oh, whoa." Then Jeff thought back to her explanation, and blinked. "Where did you say we were again?"

"Cerulean Cave," she repeated. "You know, the 'Unknown Dungeon'."

He glared at her in disbelief. "The '_Unknown Dungeon'?!_" Jeff looked away, as if disgusted, and then snapped his head back, a glimmer of fear in his eyes. "You know, people have died in here. Trainers. Like you and me."

The Pokémorph rolled her eyes. "Oh, Jeff…"

He put up a hand to silence her. "No. No. Don't 'oh Jeff' me. We are getting out of here," he said, getting up and snatching up his bag.

She sat there, pouting, and suddenly shouted, "What was that?!"

He froze, his hand on his Arcanine's ball, scanning the dark cave. Ashlee cracked up laughing, and he scowled, crossing his arms. "That wasn't funny!"

"Yes, it was," she countered, grinning.

He sighed, sitting down. "So. You really want to spend a couple nights here."

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" She morphed into a fairly young Vulpix, her tongue hanging out and tails wagging playfully. She barked, and it echoed through the cave, sending a few Zubats flying. Ashlee pranced around Jeff, making him chuckle a little.

"You want me to chase you?"

He received a bark and a nod from the Vulpix.

"Alright," he agreed, and she darted off into the cave, using Agility. He shook his head, watching her go off, and let out Perro. The Arcanine looked at his trainer, cocking its head. "We gotta go after Ashlee. You up for it?" Perro nodded, and they ran off in pursuit of their runaway friend.

After only a few minutes, they heard a loud, high bark from the distance. Jeff and his Arcanine looked over, recognizing it as Ashlee's. They darted over to see her peering at a round object. He kneeled beside her, getting a better look.

"Hey, this kinda looks like…" His voice suddenly trailed off.

"A bomb."


End file.
